A Florida residential eviction starts with a written notice under section 83.56, usually a three day notice for unpaid rent or a seven day notice for a lease violation. If the tenant stays, the landlord files in county court, the tenant has five days to respond, and possession returns only through a writ of possession.
An eviction is a lawsuit, and Florida treats it as one with very little room for shortcuts. A notice with the wrong number of days, a complaint filed before the notice runs out, or a landlord who changes the locks instead of going to court can each undo weeks of effort. Tenants, for their part, can lose their defenses entirely by missing a single deadline. This page walks through the residential process under part II of chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes, step by step, and then explains how commercial evictions differ. Eviction work is part of our broader real estate law practice.
Step 1: The written notice
Almost every residential eviction begins with a written notice under section 83.56. Which notice applies depends on the reason:
- Unpaid rent. Under section 83.56(3), the landlord may demand payment of the rent or possession of the unit within three days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. This is the familiar three day notice.
- A violation the tenant can fix. For problems such as an unauthorized pet or failing to keep the unit clean, section 83.56(2)(b) gives the tenant seven days from delivery of the notice to correct it.
- A serious or repeated violation. For conduct such as intentional damage to the property, or a repeat of the same violation within 12 months of a written warning, section 83.56(2)(a) allows a notice that ends the tenancy, and the tenant has seven days to move out with no chance to cure.
- The end of a month to month tenancy. Where there is no fixed lease term, section 83.57 requires at least 30 days' notice before the end of a monthly rental period, and at least seven days for a week to week tenancy.
The notice must match the statute closely. A defective notice is a defense the statute itself mentions, so it is worth having the notice reviewed before it is delivered rather than after a tenant's response points out the problem.
Accepting rent after a notice
Landlords are often tempted to take whatever money is offered. Section 83.56(5) says that accepting rent with knowledge of a violation can waive the right to evict for that violation, although it does not waive later or continuing violations. Accepting partial rent does not waive the right to evict for nonpayment, but if partial rent is accepted after a three day notice is posted, the landlord must give a receipt, deposit the money into the court registry, or post a new notice. These rules are easy to trip over, so talk with us before accepting money mid process.
Step 2: The complaint for possession
If the deadline in the notice passes and the tenant is still there, section 83.59 allows the landlord to file a complaint for possession in the county court of the county where the rental is located. The case uses the summary procedure in section 51.011, which is designed to move faster than an ordinary lawsuit, and the court advances it on the calendar. A landlord may also ask for unpaid rent, which is a separate claim with its own service requirements.
Step 3: The tenant's response and the court registry
Once served, the tenant has five days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, to respond. Under section 83.60(2), a tenant who wants to raise any defense other than payment must also pay into the registry of the court the rent alleged in the complaint, plus rent that comes due while the case is pending, or file a motion asking the court to determine the amount. A tenant who does neither waives every defense other than payment, and the landlord is entitled to an immediate default judgment for possession without a further hearing.
Step 4: Judgment and the writ of possession
After a judgment for the landlord, the clerk issues a writ of possession to the sheriff under section 83.62. The sheriff posts the writ at the property, and possession is restored to the landlord 24 hours after posting. Weekends and holidays do not pause that 24 hour period.
If you are facing any of these steps, as a landlord or a tenant, request a free consultation and an attorney will look at your notice, lease and timeline with you.
What adds time to an eviction
We do not promise how long an eviction will take, because several things outside anyone's control affect it. Common reasons a case takes longer include a notice that has to be redone, difficulty serving the tenant, a tenant who deposits rent and raises defenses so the case needs a hearing, a motion to determine the rent amount, a claim for money damages added to the possession claim, and the court's and the sheriff's schedules. A case where the tenant does not respond or deposit rent generally moves faster than a contested one.
Self help is not an option
A Florida landlord may not lock a tenant out, shut off utilities, remove doors or windows, or take the tenant's belongings to force a move. Section 83.67 prohibits those practices and allows the tenant to recover actual and consequential damages or three months' rent, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney's fees. The safe path is always the court process described above. For the rules that govern the tenancy before it ever reaches eviction, such as repairs, access and deposits, see our page on Florida landlord and tenant law.
If you are the tenant
Being served is stressful, but you have options if you act within the deadline. Defenses can include payment, a defective notice, retaliation under section 83.64 (for example, an eviction filed because you complained in good faith to a code enforcement agency), and the landlord's material failure to maintain the property under section 83.51(1). That last defense is only available if you gave the landlord written notice at least seven days before withholding rent, as section 83.60(1)(b) requires. In almost every case you will still need to deposit the rent into the court registry to keep your defenses alive.
Commercial evictions
Evictions of nonresidential tenants, such as a store or office, fall under part I of chapter 83 and are driven much more by the lease. For unpaid rent, section 83.20 calls for three days' written notice requiring payment or possession, and section 83.232 requires the tenant to pay the alleged rent into the court registry by the deadline to answer. A commercial tenant who fails to do so after being ordered waives its defenses. Commercial leases often contain their own notice and cure provisions, so we read the lease first. Our commercial real estate page covers leasing in more detail.
Where we help
We assist landlords and tenants with evictions from our offices, including our Fort Lauderdale office for Broward County rental owners. Because the firm limits its caseload, you work directly with an attorney from the notice to the final step.
